Project Development in Energy
Delivering the new infrastructure needed for energy transition means rethinking risk.
Overview
Key issues
Delivery risk: following the recent exit of several key construction players in the East Coast, those remaining participants are unwilling to take project delivery risks traditionally borne by EPC contractors. Delivery risk may not be fully wrapped under delivery contracts.
Costs: cost overruns may need to be managed by flexibility in debt finance, or via additional injections of equity.
EPC-style wrap and risk: prevailing market conditions mean it might not always be commercially feasible or available, so owners and operators then seek disaggregated contracting structures. Project owners must accept risks under delivery contracts, for example relating to grid connection, site conditions and separate contractor delay, and interface and integration risks, which require active management and skilled owner-side delivery capabilities.
Technology: Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have greater direct involvement in project delivery, but may possess substantial bargaining power and be unwilling to take project delivery risks beyond their core business.
